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Mobile phone jammers to be lab tested
Trials will be carried out on a mobile phone jamming device that could be used in prisons, federal Communications Minister Helen Coonan says.The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) has rejected requests from the NSW government for permission to install mobile phone jammers in maximum security prisons. The NSW government fears mobile phones could be used to direct terrorist attacks from prisons but ACMA believes phone jammers could interfere with communications devices outside jails. Senator Coonan said technological advances meant new jamming equipment would result in less interference to mobile phone users near prisons. She said laboratory testing of a phone jammer would be conducted on behalf of the Australian Federal Police (AFP) before prison trials were considered. "This limited testing provides the opportunity for a number of technical issues to be considered in more detail and to fully assess the effectiveness of the device," Senator Coonan said in a statement. NSW Justice Minster Tony Kelly urged the federal government to permit a trial of phone jammers in Lithgow and Goulburn jails as soon as the laboratory tests were completed. "Blocking the use by serious criminals of mobile phones in our jails is a key counter terrorism weapon," Mr Kelly said in a statement. Posted by: Oztralian 2006-05-12 |
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